REC
by Galadeidre
Summary: A mad doctor has plans that are plain and simple - destroy the city & beyond with a program that can't be hacked into or reprogrammed. How the heck is Batman gonna fight this if there's no way to beat it? Or is there a weak link somewhere? Ch.5 is up!
1. Robynn

**Chapter 1: Robynn **

By: Galadeidre

A/N: Just a disclaimer…I don't own the characters you know…but Robynn and a few others that'll come into play, I do! R&R, please!

My name is Robynn. I was only three years old when my whole life was shattered right before my eyes…

* * *

"Dat, da da da!! I'm Batguwul! I'm the superhewo of the night! Look at me fly!" I laughed as I spread my arms out wide and zoomed around and around the car.

My big brother laughed at me. He was watching me closely as he sat in the car, his legs sprawled out in front and onto the curb, for the car door was opened. He laughed a little bit more before he caught me and started to tickle my sides.

I started to giggle hysterically. "Jake, stop it! Stop it, please! That tickles!" I laughed and squirmed, but it didn't work. I couldn't get away. He was too strong – not that I was trying. I loved having my brother tickle me. He was my big 16-year-old brother and my only true family.

Except for my mommy, who I was named after. I hardly saw my daddy. He was always at work. My mommy was a nurse. My big brother was at school, and he had a part-time job, and he had hockey and basketball practice, and he had a girlfriend named Angela Nette.

But even with all that stuff, he never got tired with me. He'd always bring me to practices and let me shoot hoops. Angela also helped me skate in the ice rink while Jake's team was having a pep talk or break. And when Jake and Angela were on a date, I'd go with mommy to work and either help her with her job or stay at the daycare where most of my friends were.

My daddy…well…he hardly came home and when he did, he never talked about work.

"Jake!!" I screamed and laughed at the same time.

Jake stopped this time and held me up. "You're Batgirl, aren't you? You shouldn't be that ticklish."

"Batguwul can too be ticklish!" I argued.

He gave a sigh and grinned. "Well, I guess so."

I grinned, knowing I'd won that one. "Put me down. I wanna find some flowers." Jake did as I said and I ran off.

"Don't go too far, little birdie!" he called.

Little birdie…that's what he called me as my nickname. I liked it.

After I couldn't find flowers, I sat down behind a tree and peeked around to see what Jake was doing. It was dark, but the moon was big and round and I saw him talking on his phone to most likely Angela.

I turned back around to scan the area. Nobody was there, except my brother and me. Mommy and Daddy were nowhere to be seen also. I wondered where they were. Daddy had told us to stay in the car and he and Mommy had gone somewhere.

I turned to see if Jake was still on the phone and slowly crawled away into the darkness of the trees. 'He won't mind if I go looking for them,' I thought to myself. Since I didn't hear him call me back, I kept on crawling away in my neat, formal dress.

It was very dark and the trees were big and looming, but I didn't mind. Mommy had told me that there was no need to be afraid of the dark. Batman and Batgirl were there, watching in the night. They would come to protect me. I had asked her if they would protect her and Jake, too, and she said yes.

So I believed her.

And I wasn't afraid.

I soon started to skip forward around trees and bushes. I began to hum to myself.

Suddenly, I heard a small noise.

Someone was crying.

I walked around a few more trees before I stood in front of a huge stone with words carved in it. There were many stones like this one in this place. Here, there were no trees. A few hills. And a lot of stones. They were almost all in even rows.

I heard the crying again and looked up. On a hill not too far away was people. I didn't know who. One was moving around, up and down. One was standing like a statue. And the other was standing by a long pole that stuck up from the ground. I quietly crawled to the hill, hiding behind the stones so as not to let them see me. Now, I could hear their voices.

It was Mommy and Daddy.

Mommy was pleading. "John, please. Please! Don't do this, John. It's not going to do you any good. What about the kids?! Oh God, John! Think about the kids!"

Daddy clicked his tongue several times. "Robyn. Robyn. See, if you hadn't been so nosy of what I was doing, our family could still live on. Happy and ignorant of what was to come. I would've kept you safe. You and the children. You were just too dang nosy. And I know you, Robyn. You would have told the authorities. Now, I have to change all my plans and everything that I was doing. Oh well. All for the best I suppose." He looked up past my mommy. "I'm going to get another shovel from the car. Francis. Make sure you watch after my darling while I get the shovels." He turned around, but turned back towards my mommy again. "Oh, sweetie. I wouldn't try to go across if I were you. You know what would happen if you took a step forward." He pointed to the ground. From where I could see at the bottom of the hill, there were small little hills surrounding mommy, like anthills. He blew my mommy a kiss. "Be good, now." He walked down the hill, jumping here and there as he went down, which was kind of funny-looking.

Mommy gave a sob and turned towards the other person there. I could now see that it was my favorite butler, Francis. He was tall and starting to get old. His hair that he had left was a gray-white. He had a small mustache and a small beard. He always loved to play with me when he had the time.

Mommy gave Francis a pleading look. "Francis. Snap out of it. Please. You have to untie me. You've gotta save me. For the children's sake. Oh, please, Francis. Don't let him control you! Think about the good times. Think about Robynn! My little baby Robynn!" She was crying hard now.

The moonlight shone on the hill and I could see his face. He was sad. He tried to speak, but it was as if he was being held back. I heard him say a few words. "Ro…byn…sor..ry…" He slowly turned his head and noticed something from behind me. "J…J…k…"

I turned around.

My big brother was standing right behind me. His eyes were wide and he was looking up onto the hill. His face looked like he had seen a ghost. What did he know that I didn't?

Mommy saw him, too. "Jake. Jake, please. We don't have much time." She had stopped crying for the moment.

Jake didn't seem to be listening much. He was looking at the anthills around Mommy's feet. "Small mines…"

"Jake, forget about that! Listen to me! You have got to listen! Take Robynn and get out of here! Get away as far and as fast as you can! Take care of Robynn for me! Jake, you hear me? Find Robynn and get out of here!"

This time, I decided to make myself known. I stood up out of the shadows, my arms out. "I'm right here, Mommy! What are you doing up there? And why are you tied up?" For I had just noticed, when I stood up, that Mommy was tied to the pole.

All three looked at me and stared, dead silent. I didn't know why.

Then everything that happened next happened quite rapidly – and it all led to the end of my life as I knew it.

"JAKE! ROBYNN! GET AWAY FROM HER!" a voice boomed.

I jumped and turned around.

My daddy was walking to us very fast. He looked angry.

"Jake!" Mommy cried. "Get her out of here! Now! Hurry, Jake!"

"But where are we going, Mommy?" I asked. I still did not know what was happening.

Mommy sobbed and gave me a sad smile. "Sweetie, I might not see you for a long time, okay? I need you and Jake to go far away. Do you understand me? I have to say buh-bye to you right now."

I thought I understood now, being the three-year-old I was. I gave a happy smile. "Okay. But I have to give you a hug bye-bye, Mommy. I might not see you for a loooong time." I started to crawl up the hill.

Jake tried to grab my ankles, but missed. "No, Robynn! You can't go up there!"

"Sweetie, you're brother's right." My mommy's eyes were frantic. She was looking from me to my daddy who was almost at the base of the hill. "I can't give you a hug right now. You've gotta go!"

"But I want to give you a hug," I argued. I was confused. Why didn't Mommy want a hug from me? And why did Daddy look so angry?

"Francis!" my dad ordered. "Don't let her get near her!"

It was as if some invisible person had been holding onto Francis and had finally let go. He started forward, but I knew I would reach my mommy before he reached me.

I was still not yet at the top of the hill and Daddy was already at the base.

My Mommy smiled. A sad smile. And a few tears ran down her cheeks. "I love you, sweetie. Robynn…" She reached her leg out and stepped on one of the anthills. She let go.

It was as if a huge bomb had gone off and Mommy was in the middle of it. She was soon surrounded by fire and I couldn't reach her.

I stopped. I was scared of the fire. There had also been a few more big booming sounds. I knew they were hurting Mommy.

"MOMMY!!!!" I screamed. I started to run as fast as my little legs could carry me.

The next part was a blur.

I stepped on another anthill that had been placed on the edge of the top of the hill before it started sloping down. I didn't notice, but everyone else had.

A split-second later, someone gruffly yelled, "Move!" and I was pushed away hard before I was able to lift my foot off the hill.

A big boom sounded right where I had been standing. It deafened my ears. Then, a huge explosion.

My dress caught on fire. My face had been burned. So had the rest of my skin. I fell onto the ground, but my eyes were shut. Falling hard only added to the burning pain throughout me. I was screaming in pain. I was rolling around on the grass. My dress was still ablaze and I didn't know how to get it out.

Then someone smothered something on me and the fire on my dress was extinguished. But I was still screaming. It hurt. Nobody knew how much pain I was in.

Someone lifted me up swiftly but gently. They were screaming for something. I didn't know what. Then they were running. Running away from the fires.

I felt the cool breeze, and slowly I stopped screaming. That didn't stop me from crying, though. I slowly opened my eyes, for they hurt as well.

I saw the fire on the hill. It was far away now. But I couldn't see anybody there. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed glasses and a small beard on the person carrying me away. Daddy…

Now, I knew what had happened.

My last thought before my world went black was…Mommy…Francis…Jake…


	2. Suicide Rescue

**Chapter 2: Suicide Rescue**

By: Galadeidre

Batman jumped out of the way of a flying hunk of metal. "Bonk, just give it up already! Hand over the chip!"

"Make me!" He grabbed another large metal tank and threw it at him. Batman narrowly missed it. The tank landed on top of the mainframe computer board in that lab room.

"Bonk, watch it!" Ghoul shouted from the other end. "This place is filled with deadly explosives and new weapons! We don't want to kill ourselves on the job!" He finished decoding the password and the door nearby slid open. "We're in! Let's go! Bonk! Chucko! Make sure he doesn't follow us! DeeDee! Come on!"

"On the double!" the DeeDee twins replied. They did a few somersaults and ran through the newly opened door.

Bonk grinned. "You're all mine now, Batfreak!"

"We'll just have to see about that," Batman muttered. He ran towards Bonk and landed a punch square in the gut.

Bonk backed away for a moment and looked up just in time to see Batman come in with a kick on the face. He fell on his back, unconscious.

Batman quickly ran to him and patted him down, searching for the small chip. "Great. Wayne, it's not here."

"He must have thrown it to one of the others," Old Bruce Wayne spoke through the Batsuit intercom. "Careful. There's some deadly stuff in the other room."

"No prob…" He gagged. Bonk had just woken up and was choking the life out of Batman. "You're not getting that chip! It's ours now!"

"We'll…see…" Batman choked some more before Chucko came with a long metal pipe. He swiped and hit Batman in the head hard. Batman fell to the ground dazed for a few moments.

"Terry! Are you all right?" Bruce asked.

Batman shook his head a few times before everything came back in focus. He held his hand to the left side of his head. "Ouch." He slowly stood up and was punched in the face by Bonk. He fell back again and watched as both Bonk and Chucko slowly advanced to him.

"Terry, you've got to hurry! If Ghoul has the chip and activates several of the programs in there…well…we could say goodbye to Gotham City as we knew it."

"Give me a sec." He shook his head a few times.

Both Bonk and Chucko lunged at him. Batman had gained enough sense to jump out of the way. The two goons crashed into each other, and both fell back, dazed.

"I'll see you two later," Batman gave a grin and ran towards the door which Ghoul and DeeDee had gone in.

He had just ran into the room and gotten a glimpse of Ghoul typing in some commands when he was kicked on the back of the head. He groaned and slowly looked up to see one of the DeeDee twins coming to him with a twirling type of kick. Batman rolled out of the way and onto his back, just in time to see the other twin come flying at him. From his peripheral vision, he noticed the first DeeDee twin running to him. He jumped and flew up into the air before either twin reached his side.

"Terry, you had better hurry," Bruce warned.

"I'm trying that." He spotted Ghoul and jumped down to him, catching the villain off guard. Ghoul hit the wall with a loud thunk and lay there, unconscious. Batman ran to him and checked his pockets.

"Bingo." Batman gave a grin as he felt the hard square chip in his fingers.

"No!" Bonk had seen it all. "DeeDee! Don't let him get away!"

The twins ran towards Batman, determined looks on their faces.

Batman gave a grin. "Maybe some other time. Try staying out of trouble." With that said, he flew up into the air and through a skylight.

Bonk gave a roar in fury and punched the wall several times.

Ghoul had regained consciousness. "Stop it, Bonk!" He looked up to where Batman had flown away. "Looks like we're just gonna have to tell the Doc that the mission was a failure. Come on. Let's get out of her before the cops show." They all followed Ghoul out the back doorway.

* * *

The Batmobile flew back into its hideaway where Wayne was waiting. It landed smoothly and softly. Batman immediately got out and walked towards Bruce, holding out the chip in his hand. "Special chip delivery comin' up."

Bruce took the chip and walked over to the Batcomputer. Batman followed as he took off his helmet to reveal the young Terry McGinnis.

"Well," Terry remarked as he watched Bruce put the chip into the computer and start typing a few commands. "I'm off. Got a date with Dana tonight. Goin' to take her out to dinner then go take a walk or something. Have fun with that chip." Terry grabbed his bag and started to walk up the stone steps that led to the Wayne Manor.

"Terry, wait."

Terry stopped and turned. "What?"

"This isn't the chip."

At this, the young teenager turned his full body around. "Say that again?"

"This isn't the original chip. It's a backup file."

Terry walked over to Bruce's side. "But…how's that possible? I thought it was the chip…"

"It's not. I don't blame you, though." Bruce leaned back in his chair and looked up at the data that was filing out on his computer. "This was just to lead us in a wild goose chase. The Doc probably already has the chip in his possession. He just wanted this one, because it has all the backup data of the original saved onto it. This one's almost as important as the original. Only difference is that the original, when plugged into a specific software could probably wipe out a good deal of Gotham's firewalls and vital computer programs."

"That doesn't sound at all…pleasant," Terry muttered. "Look. I'm really sorry about the mix up."

"Don't be." Bruce got up and placed a hand on the young Batman's shoulder. "Go on to your date with Dana. There's nothing much we can do tonight. I'll try to track down the Doc's wherabouts, but it might not do us any good. Just have some fun tonight. And get some rest, too."

Terry smiled. "Sure thing. See you later." He hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and ran up the steps.

Bruce watched him and then turned back around to the computer. He took out the chip and looked at it. There was a symbol on the top of the chip. It looked like a square J and C that were fused together to look like one symbol. Bruce stored that in the back of his mind and sat back down in his chair to think.

* * *

"Terry, I'm glad you didn't have to work all night tonight."

"So do I."

Terry and Dana walked hand in hand around the Gotham harbor. It was a dark, starry night with a full moon and not many people were out. Terry noticed a young couple at the railing talking softly, a mother with a young toddler boy walking around, a dark figure that was masked in shadow nearby the toddler and his mom, a gang of boys that were quite a ways away that were talking, and a harbor patrol that was pacing back and forth nearby one of the piers.

Dana continued on with her lecture. "I mean, Mr. Wayne's a nice guy and all, but he makes you work too hard at times. That's what I think at least. I'm glad he let you go early."

Terry smiled and held her close. "I wouldn't have missed this night for anything." _Well, depending on the 'anything' that came up,_ he thought to himself.

Dana smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm glad of that." She leaned close for a kiss.

Suddenly, the little toddler boy that Terry had noticed earlier spoke, catching both Terry and Dana's attention.

"Look, Mommy. That girl's standing on the railing. Is she going to swim in the water, Mommy?"

Terry turned his head just in time to see the dark figure that had been masked in shadow jump off the railing and plummet into the waters below. He had also noticed that she had thrown an anchor down before she had jumped. The anchor had been tied to her ankle.

"Terry," Dana whispered in fright. "She's gonna kill herself." Terry ran to the railing as Dana followed and noticed the ripples in the water. The other people there that had heard the little boy were also crowding around the railing. The patrol man was running as fast as his fat legs would carry him towards them.

Terry acted on instinct. He took off his jacket and jumped into the waters.

"Terry!" Dana called out to him.

Terry plunged into the water and immediately noticed how cold it felt. He was grateful for the bright full moon that was out and began to search around underwater. He spotted the anchor on the ground and followed it up to the ankle where it was attached. The dark figure wasn't moving. Their face was in shadow.

Terry didn't waste any time. He swam toward the ankle and glanced at the chain. Slowly, but efficiently, he unwound the chain from the ankle. He choked. He was running out of breath. _Stay calm,_ he thought to himself. He soon finished unwinding the chain and grabbed the figure. Immediately, he started swimming for the surface. He was practically out of air. He also felt as if the figure's weight was pulling him down, but didn't think much of it, considering he needed air badly.

He broke the surface and gasped for breath. The others that were watching from the railing cheered and applauded. Once he had regained his air supply, he looked down and the still figure.

It was a young girl. She was not more than thirteen or fourteen years of age. Her hood concealed most of her face, but he noticed how pale it was in the moonlight. He quickly swam to the nearest pier and was helped up onto the dock. The harbor patrol leaned beside Terry and asked, "Are you all right?"

Terry nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Terry!" Dana ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was so worried. You're shivering, Ter. C'mon. We'd best get you a change of clothes somewhere. I'll drive you home."

"Wait." He crawled over to where the girl was lying on the dock, still and silent. She wasn't breathing. Terry felt her pulse. It was there, faint but there. "She needs to get to the hospital."

"It's already been taken care of," the patrol answered. "You're crazy, you know that? Going into that water at this time of night and with the chill. Crazy, but a hero." The others that were there, clapped.

Terry smiled. He could hear the ambulance in the background.

"C'mon, Terry," Dana replied. "You should change before you catch a cold."

"I need to see how she's doing, Dana." He didn't know why, but he felt an obligation to take care of this kid, whoever she was.

Dana sighed. "Tell you what. You'll go home and change and then I'll come by your house later on to pick you up to see her. How's that?"

Terry nodded. "You're the best, Dana. Thanks."

Dana smiled. "Come on, then."


	3. Silent Thanks

**Chapter 3: Silent Thanks**

By: Galadeidre

"So you risked your neck to save her?" Bruce asked over the phone.

Terry sat down on his bed, wiping his hair with a towel. He had finally finished changing out of his wet clothes and had just explained what had happened to Bruce over the phone.

"Yeah. But that's not the weird thing." Terry placed the towel down. "She was only a kid, but she seemed really…heavy. For her age, at least. And I don't think that it was the water that was pulling her down."

"Did you get a name?"

"Couldn't find one. Dana stopped by at the hospital to check up on her. She's gonna pick me up to see how she's doing, soon." The bell rang. "That's probably her, right now. Tell you more later."

"Get some rest."

"Sure." He ended the call and ran to the door, putting his shoes on. He opened the door.

Dana nodded at him. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Hey, Dana. Sorry about the date being messed up and all. I really appreciate what you're doing right now for me."

Dana smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You don't need to be sorry. You helped save a little girl." They walked down the front steps. "Speaking of. She's doing all right from what the doctor says. She doesn't talk much and they can't seem to find her name at all in the records. Weird, huh? It's as if she doesn't even exist."

"Not even one ID or anything on her?"

Dana shook her head. "Her fingerprints don't match anybody's description and she won't answer the doctor's questions. Maybe you'll have better luck with her, considering you're the one who saved her."

Terry shrugged. "We'll just have to see about that one."

Dana drove down to the hospital and they entered into the front lobby.

The nurse looked up and smiled. "Hello again. Come back, I see. And with a visitor. Is he your brother?"

Dana smiled. "No. Boyfriend, actually. He's the one that saved that little girl."

"Oh, well am I ever impressed." She gave another big smile. "The little girl's still in the same room as before. You can visit her."

"Thanks." Dana walked down a hallway and into an elevator. Terry followed. Once they reached the third floor, Dana stepped out and went into the fifth door to her right.

She stopped at the foot of the bed and gave a sigh. "She's asleep. Sorry, Ter. I don't think it would be great if she woke up right now. Maybe we can come and visit tomorrow or something. Terry?"

Terry slowly and quietly pulled up a chair to the head of the bed and took a good look at her.

Her face was as snow-pale as the sheets that she slept on. She was small and slight in figure, but that came with her age. Her golden-brown hair was slightly curly and wrapped around her face and neck here and there. She slept on, her breathing soft and even.

Terry sighed. "I wish I could talk to her."

"Feeling bad for her, huh?" Dana walked over to him and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "I'm guessing you're gonna have to work tomorrow?"

Terry nodded.

"Tell you what, I'll come stop by here for you and tell her you stopped by. Then maybe after you work we can visit her. At least she'll know that her savior was here."

"I don't know if she's gonna want to thank me or kill me for saving her." Terry sighed. "I mean. She did try drowning herself and almost succeeded."

Dana gave him a hug. "I'm positive that she's grateful. I mean, she's just a little girl. She's got her whole life ahead of her. She probably didn't even want to drown."

Terry wasn't so sure, but knew there was no point in arguing. He remembered how still she was in the water and how she didn't even try struggling against the chain of the anchor. He smiled and said, "You're right." He stood up and came to stand by her bedside. He stroked her small, fragile-looking fingers as if to soothe her.

The little girl slightly moved and, feeling Terry's fingers on the top of her hand, took hold of his fingers and squeezed them. Terry noticed how strong her fingers were for being so fragile-looking and also noticed how ice-cold they were. It made a shiver go down his spine.

"See?" Dana whispered, obviously not noticing Terry shiver. "She squeezed your hand in thanks. A silent thanks."

"Yeah…" Terry muttered. He smiled. "I guess you're right. Why don't we go. It's late. I'll try stopping by tomorrow night."

"'Kay."

Terry slowly pried his hand out of the little girl's fingers and they quietly walked out of the room.

* * *

"Censors…identify…Terry McGinnis…"

_Terry…McGinnis…_

_Are you my brother? Who was that with you? She was here before…_

"Life forms…two…no more…"

_Where did you go? Why did you leave?_

"Identifying…searching…Life form Terry McGinnis…also known as Batman…searching…"

_You are Batman…who is Batman? No…Batman is old…you, I sense, are young…who are you?_

"Searching…analyzing data…filing and saving into memory bank…procedures and objectives downloading… … … … Download complete."

A pair of ice-blue eyes opened, little binary numbers running through her pupil and through her head.


	4. Babysitting

**Chapter 4: Babysitting**

By: Galadeidre

"Hey, Ace." Terry knelt down to greet the dog at the front door. "Been waiting for me long? Is the old man down in the cave?"

Ace gave a bark and wagged his tail.

"Good boy." Terry stood up and walked down the stone steps that led to Bruce Wayne's secret cave. He noticed Wayne typing on the main computer, the small chip right beside him.

Ace had followed him down the steps and now darted past him to his old master.

"You're late," the old Batman muttered without looking behind him.

Terry set down his backpack and shrugged. "Sorry about that. I had to talk to Max after school. You know, I told her about that little girl that I rescued from the water last night. When I said that there was no record of her ever existing, she looked it up for me. Turns out even her great hacking skills are pointless. It's as if this girl's dead to the whole real world."

Bruce turned towards him with thoughtful eyes. "I'll have to take a look at that. In the mean time, I want to show you this. I noticed a symbol on the chip when you left. Does it ring a bell?"

"J C? Dunno about any software companies with the letters J C."

"I thought as much." Bruce turned around to the computer screen. "And it's been quiet so far. I don't have the slightest clue of where the Doc's going to strike next."

Terry knelt down again to stroke Ace's fur. "Maybe another weapons facility?"

"Doubt it. Besides, with the original chip in his hands now, he's got the strongest weapon possible. I just don't understand why he hasn't attacked or anything."

"Maybe, he's waiting for the precise moment to place his plan in action."

"You mind telling me the plan?"

"Couldn't tell ya."

Bruce sighed. "I can't figure out what he's trying to do. Is he just biding his time, or is he having complications, or what?" He rubbed his temples.

Terry noticed. "You should rest. It's not like you to be so uptight about a dilemma like this."

"This isn't just any ordinary dilemma. The whole world is at stake. If the Doc releases this chip into the mainframe and is able to crash several programs, he might as well take over the whole world. It would be easy for him to do. This chip's like a virus in a virus _in_ a virus. It can't be stopped, it can't be hacked into, and it can't be reprogrammed."

"That kinda sounds impossible."

Bruce looked at him sternly. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, if you think about it, if it couldn't be stopped, it'd be invincible. If it couldn't be hacked into or reprogrammed, how was he able to make such a device in the first place? There's got to be a weak link to this chip somewhere. Like a loose end or something. It couldn't be impossible to stop. Maybe just very difficult, but not impossible. There's gotta be a weakness. I mean, if he built it. All electronic devices have a weak point somewhere…right?"

"You have a point there." Bruce turned back around and inserted the chip into the computer. A huge file popped up with numbers and information. "But I don't see any weakness anywhere as of now," he muttered as he skimmed through the mass amounts of information. "I hope you're right, though, or we're gonna be in a world of terror."

Terry smirked. "We already are."

Suddenly, Ace started to bark, glancing at the stone steps.

The doorbell rang.

"A visitor?" Terry asked, glancing at his old mentor. "This late at night?"

It was clear the old man was as shocked as Terry was. "I wasn't expecting company."

"Let's hope it's good company." Terry grabbed his backpack and walked up the steps, Bruce following.

* * *

I had no idea why I was standing here. Why did my mind tell me to come here, of all places? I wanted to leave, but…I guess my feet just wouldn't move.

I was still tired. I was still drained of energy and my body was telling me just to collapse onto the ground. I didn't want to be here anymore.

The door opened and I knew my chance to collapse had passed. He was standing at the door. Terry McGinnis was his name. I knew that, but I didn't know how I knew. I'd never seen the guy in my life.

He was shocked, that was for sure. "You…"

I had almost forgotten that he didn't know my name. At the moment, I couldn't even remember it.

His expression changed from surprise to worry. "I'm surprised the doctor let you go already. It's only been a day. Come on in." He stepped to the side to allow me inside. I slowly walked in. I still didn't know why I was here.

I looked around. The place was very _very_ clean. There was hardly a spot that was covered in dust. But it was quiet. Too quiet to be his house, that was for sure.

"You don't live here," I spoke softly.

He grinned. "Nah. This is Mr. Wayne's house. Bruce Wayne. You've heard of him, right?"

I had, and I nodded.

"Terry."

I turned my head to the old, serious voice that had just spoken. An old man was standing by the door, a cane in his hand. He wore a nice, clean suit and his face was worn with wrinkles everywhere. From what it seemed, I guessed this man was Mr. Bruce.

"Oh, um, yeah." Terry grinned again and nodded towards me. "This is the girl that I was talking about. You know, the one from the docks. I'm sorry." He turned his head towards me. "I never caught your name."

"I…It's Birdie." The words came out before I was able to stop them. Yes, my name was Birdie. But why did I feel like I was hiding something?

"Well, Birdie," Wayne muttered. His face had softened a bit. "What brings you here?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't answer, considering I didn't even know why I was here. I looked around again and said, "You have a nice place, Mr. Bruce."

"Thank you."

There was an uneasy silence, but I didn't seem to mind. I liked the silence. I don't know why, but I did.

"Hey, Birdie," Terry finally spoke. He knelt down to me. "You're folks are probably worried about you. How about if I take you home?"

"I…I don't have a home." That wasn't entirely true. I lived with my dad, who had raised me up ever since my mom had died in a car accident. I was an only child, so once my mom had died, I was all that my dad had left. Right now, though, I didn't want to see my dad. I didn't know why.

"You don't have a home?" Bruce asked. He walked towards Terry and me and gave me a small smile. "Well, I can offer my house to you for a while."

I looked up shocked. Why was he letting me stay?

"Mr. Wayne. Are you sure that that's a…a _good_ idea?" Terry asked. He glanced at Mr. Wayne.

"Of course it is. That is if you want to cope with an old man the whole day." Mr. Bruce smiled at me again.

I didn't know what to think, but my mouth seemed to know. "I'd like that very much, sir." I wanted to smack my mouth for saying that. He was a rich man and he didn't even know me. Why would he have any reason to house a young thirteen-year-old girl like me? A girl who didn't even know herself?

"Well, it's settled then. Terry, if you don't mind, could you fix up one of the rooms for Birdie?" He looked down at me. "You can stay here as long as you like. I don't often get company anymore, and it's rather lonesome at times."

"Well, I guess I can keep you company." I had to smile at him this time. Suddenly, my whole brain started to shut down. I could feel it. My knees buckled and I collapsed to the ground. I was really tired. My eyes were starting to droop. I didn't realize how much effort it had taken to keep me standing upright just long enough to find Mr. Bruce's mansion.

"Birdie?" Mr. Bruce knelt down to me and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Sleepy…" I managed to mutter, and then my eyes closed and my vision went black.

* * *

Terry shut the door closed behind him and met Bruce's gaze in the dimly lit hallway.

"Is she still asleep?" Bruce asked.

Terry nodded. "Yeah. Poor kid, though. I kinda feel bad for her. Looks like she's gone through a lot."

"Most likely. Come on into the kitchen. We need to talk."

"Talk? About what?"

"About _her_." With that, he walked down the hallway, Terry following.

Bruce sat down at the table as Terry poured coffee for the both of them.

"So." Terry passed a mug to the old man. "Why do we need to talk about her?"

"Haven't you noticed anything different about her?" Bruce gazed sternly into Terry's eyes. "She's not normal."

"That's for sure." Terry took a sip of his coffee and set his mug down once more. "Actually, yeah. I've noticed plenty of weird things about her."

"Like?"

"Well, for starters, remember when I told you about her being a little too heavy for her age? I mean, she's pretty thin."

"Go on."

"You told me to carry her to the bedroom, right? I did that, but it turns out she is _really_ heavy. And it's not the normal heavy, either. It's like she's got thirty-pound weights tied to her or something. What's more, it's as if she's cold blooded or something. She's like an ice cube."

"I got that impression when I looked at her." Bruce leaned back in his chair, the mug between his fingertips. "I don't think she even realizes it. It's a miracle she's not blue. She's much too pale to be normal."

"I've noticed that, too. So, what are you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing for now. I can't do much. Besides, we've got another problem in our hands. We'll worry about Birdie later. Right now, we've got to find out the Doc's whereabouts."

"Any leads?"

Bruce shook his head. "Not yet. I'm still analyzing the data on that chip. Haven't found a weak point yet, but I might sooner or later." Bruce looked at his watch. "It's getting really late. Why don't you head on home? I'll call you if you're needed."

"Sure." Terry stood up and started to walk towards the doorway. He stopped and turned around. "You gonna keep Birdie around? You know that's a high risk you're taking."

"She'll be fine here. I'll worry about her. You just worry about getting some rest and then getting ready for tomorrow night. I want you to try tracking down Ghoul and the others. They might know something."

"Sure thing. 'Night. Have fun babysitting." With that, he smiled, walked out of the door, and drove home.


	5. Birdie

**Chapter 5: Birdie**

By: Galadeidre

_"Is she asleep?"_

_"Yes, sir."_

_"Good. We need to finish this fast."_

_"Sir, wouldn't this kill her?"_

_"She'll be fine. She's lived through much worse."_

_"That's true, sir."_

_"I hope you can stand blood. I have a feeling we'll be seeing much of that."_

_"I've done surgery before, sir."_

_"I know, but this is different."_

_"I can handle it."_

_I didn't like what they were doing. I felt myself on something hard and cold. I didn't like it. It was uncomfortable. I tried to squirm around and moan to get their attention, but my limbs were numb and my lips wouldn't move for me. I was scared, but I couldn't do anything. They lifted up my head and made me sit upright for a while. I felt something cold on the back of my head. It was digging through my scalp. I tried to scream, but the voice for it didn't come out. I could hear the buzzing of a machine. It was cutting right through my skull. I started to hyperventilate inwardly. I began to panic. My heart started to race. They were opening other parts of my body. They were cutting through my skin. There was nothing I could do. Whatever they were doing to me, I couldn't stop them…_

I jerked upwards, thinking I was still lying on that cold table. It took me a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, I noticed that I wasn't on a cold table, but a soft, fluffy bed. I instinctively grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around me for warmth. I wasn't getting any warmer, and I didn't know why. I finally gave up trying to get warm and crawled out of bed. Walking to the curtains, I opened them and squinted slightly as my eyes adjusted to the sudden brilliance of light that greeted me on the other side of the window. I shut my curtains again and walked out into the hallway, which was silent and empty. I took my time walking down the hallway. Slowly, I began to remember what had happened to me…

My name was Birdie, I knew that. I took a deep breath and calmed my mind. I had decided to jump off the harbor and kill myself.

Why?

I really didn't understand why. I had just felt an impulse at that moment to jump off. Something or someone in the back of my head had been whispering to me, telling me that I was pretty much dead and that all I could do now was jump.

This was what confused me.

Why did my subconsciousness tell me that I was dead already, when I was still flesh and blood that was walking around in the open?

Even now, when I thought about it, the little voice kept telling me that I was just dead.

But why?

I walked to the end of the hallway and heard the voice of a newscaster in a room nearby. I slowly walked in to be greeted by a pair of old, yet stern eyes.

The man that had introduced himself as the infamous Mr. Bruce Wayne nodded his head at me as he smiled and lowered the volume down on the television screen. I didn't do anything back. Yes, it was rude, but I was just frozen with a complete lack of words to say.

"I hope you had a relaxing night," he spoke. His voice was kind. I could tell, though, that there was a toughness to it that not many others would probably have noticed.

At this, I nodded.

I still didn't know why I couldn't speak. I wanted to talk to him, but something was holding me back. It was like that thing that was holding me back feared that I would say something out loud that would reveal my secret.

Wait…what secret?

My brain hurt from all this confusion.

I had no secrets.

So why did I feel guilty of hiding something? I didn't have anything to hide.

"Are you all right?" Mr. Wayne asked. His eyes were filled with genuine concern.

This snapped me out of my thoughts and forced myself to think about what I should say. It was rude not to say anything. This man was very kind and had offered me a place to stay for a while. I silently prayed that he'd let me stay for a few more days. He had no idea how much his home actually felt like a comfort to me. I could hardly even remember my own room. I hardly slept. Normally, I was at the harbor. The same one that Mr. Terry had rescued me.

Why had he rescued me?

Mr. Wayne repeated the same question. "Birdie, are you all right?"

This time, I spoke, against my conscience's wishes. "I…I'm fine."

Mr. Wayne smiled a warm smile that made me feel all happy for some reason. I quickly erased that out of my mind. Why would he care for a child that he hardly even knew?

"Well, you look a bit pale. Nothing a little food can't cure." He slowly stood up, grabbed his cane that was leaning on the armrest of the sofa, and walked towards the kitchen. I followed him.

He began to open the fridge and looked up at me. "Would you like an omelet?"

I just stared at him.

He chuckled and said, "I may be old, but I'm not that old as to not be able to make a good dish every now and then."

I felt slightly embarrassed. "You don't have to…" He didn't realize what little food I had eaten for the past several weeks now, if any at all. I was dying to have an omelet, but I didn't want him to make it for me.

"I think it'll be well worth it." With that said, he took out three eggs, a pan, and started to cook on his tidy stovetop.

I wanted to interject, but I knew he wouldn't listen. Seeing as my mouth soon started to water the minute I had smelt his delicious cooking, I decided that it would be best if I did get at least a little bit into my stomach.

I thought it took him forever to finish cooking his meal, though it was probably only about half an hour. He had made more than an omelet, though, which kind of surprised me. He placed in front of me a bacon omelet, scrambled eggs with three strips of bacon, light and fluffy pancakes cooked to perfection, and a tall glass of milk.

I looked at him, confused and somewhat surprised.

"You looked like you needed more than just an omelet." He finished setting the platters of food in front of me and sat on the opposite side of the table. "Now, I want you to eat as much of that as you can, all right? You need to fill that stomach of yours with more than what it has now."

I tried to argue. "Eating so much after a period of eating so little is unhealthy as well."

Mr. Wayne smiled. "Well, then I guess you can just gradually eat a bit more for each of your meals until you're back to eating a healthy course." His eyes gave a slight twinkle. "We can save the rest of that food for later or for when you go home. You can take it all if you want."

His words made my stomach flip over. "Home…" I whispered as I chewed the food that I had in my mouth.

Mr. Wayne's ears must have still been sharp, considering he turned at the sound of that one word. "You do have a home, right?"

I nodded. "Yes…but I don't know where it is…"

Mr. Wayne gave a slightly confused expression, which he suppressed immediately. "Well, how are you going to go home?"

He did want me out of his house. I should have known. Still, it was worth a shot to ask. "Can I stay here for a while?"

Mr. Wayne gave a small frown. "I did say that you could stay for a while, but won't somebody be worried about you?"

"My daddy is a nice man. He won't mind if I stay here for a while. He's hardly ever worried about me."

"I kind of doubt that, Birdie…"

"Besides, he has to work. And he hardly is at home from work, so I hardly go home either. He'll find a way to contact me if he really, really, really needs me." I gave him a look of desperate and absolute pleading. Why I wanted to stay at his house so badly, I couldn't quite figure out. I just wanted to. I didn't want to go home. Not yet at least. Something told me that Daddy would be busy and he wouldn't be there again.

And I would be alone just like the rest of my life that I remembered.

Mr. Wayne must have given in. He sighed and asked me, "How old are you, Birdie?"

This question caught me off guard, and I had to think about it for a while. "I'm thirteen."

"Well, you are quite young to be on your own. You seem to need a lot of taking care of." Mr. Wayne gave another sigh. I hope I hadn't offended him. I knew I could be a bother, but he seemed to be such a nice and caring man, scratching off the slight gruffness in his voice and eyes. He probably was just lonely from being alone all the time. Just like me.

"I promise I won't be a bother."

A few more moments passed, before Mr. Wayne smiled. "All right. You can stay."

I gave a grin, which was so very strange. This smile wasn't hollow compared to the other smiles I had always made. This one was – happy. Actually, truly, genuinely happy.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Wayne."

"Please. Call me Bruce."

"_Mister_ Bruce," I insisted.

Mr. Bruce smiled. "All right. You can call me whatever you like."

"Okay." I stuffed another mouthful of my breakfast into my mouth, stuffing it a little too much that I could hardly chew.

"But firstly," Mr. Bruce started. I looked up at him. "After you finish your breakfast, I'm going to bring you to the park. You could use some fresh air."

I didn't want to tell him that I had never been outside in the daytime in my entire life and I was slightly afraid of going outside in broad daylight.

"Going outside and feeling the warmth of the sun and the freshness of a new day can help you get better. You've been through quite the ordeal." I realized that he was talking about my incident a few nights ago at the harbor and so I refrained from arguing with him.

He did like to worry about my health a lot.


End file.
